Karigahara
A low-lying Fukui beginners area whose operating company went bankrupt in February 2020; the lifts still stand and the base is now used for drone practice and motorsport events.
- Region
- Fukui Prefecture
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- abandoned
- Year opened
- 1956
- Year closed
- 2020
- Reason for closure
- Persistent trouble with snowfall at a base of only 200 m. The operating company filed for bankruptcy in February 2020, the last operating season having been 2018-19.
History
Karigahara (雁が原スキー場) opened in 1956 in the north of Katsuyama City in Fukui Prefecture. It was gentle, easy ground - five courses rated 65 per cent beginner and 35 per cent intermediate with nothing advanced at all, a longest run of 1,500 m, a steepest pitch of 25 degrees and 220 m of vertical from a base at just 200 m. Five lifts served it at the peak, a 700 m quad and four single chairs, while an earlier top lift that crossed the Hoonjisan toll road had been taken out of service in the early 2000s. That low base was the problem, and after years of struggling for snow the operating company filed for bankruptcy in February 2020, its last winter having been 2018-19. The lifts remain in place, signs for the ski area still stand on the roads nearby, and the base has found an unlikely second use as a drone practice zone and a venue for Gymkhana motorsport events. Course names are not compiled in accessible sources; the coordinates mark Katsuyama City.
Lifts
| Name | Type | Manufacturer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Quad | 700 m; still in place after closure | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 660 m | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 340 m | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 300 m | |
| Unnamed lift | Chairlift - Single | 300 m | |
| Unnamed lift | A top lift crossing the Hoonjisan toll road was decommissioned in the early 2000s; its type and length are not recorded |
Sources and further reading
More in Japan
Location
36.0608, 136.5008